kubuntu ethernet setup help, please

HI, I have been struggling with setting up ethernet between two kubuntu
computers. Both of these computers are dual-boot with windows and I can
detect the network card in both through Kinfo center and through the
lshw command. I rebooted both into windows to check that the various
hardware was functioning and it was.
I'm certain that I have checked some box or incorrectly filled a field
somewhere. Because, what is easy for others is not working at all for me.
Is there any step by step guides available? Are there any quick and
easy ways to set this up. I really only need some simple sharing of a
few folders and also share internet connection between the computer I am
writing from and the other.
One problem on the other is; that when I try to access Network Services
(which I believe is the way you access your network) I get a message
that either mdnsd can't be found.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. I have set up ethernet networks
in windows but never really fully knew what I was doing but this seems
even more difficult. I also don't do engine work lol.
Chris

none wrote:

> HI, I have been struggling with setting up ethernet between two kubuntu
> computers.

Turn computers on.
Plug one end of a UTP crossover cable in each.
Watch the pretty green lights on the NICs.
Are they blinking ?
If so, congratulations - you have a functional Ethernet network.

Sarcasm aside, I suspect you mean *TCP/IP* networking.

> Both of these computers are dual-boot with windows and I can
> detect the network card in both through Kinfo center and through the
> lshw command. I rebooted both into windows to check that the various
> hardware was functioning and it was.

What a way to "check" ;-)
Do the following on each Linux box: run
#lspci -v
and check for the presence of your network cards, then run
#ifconfig -a
and check that there is at least an eth0 entry for each machine.
If there is, you have functioning hardware.

> I'm certain that I have checked some box or incorrectly filled a field
> somewhere.

Absolutely.
The *clue* is that you /have/ to fill some fields before you can get IP
networking to work.
You need to do at least 3 things:
1. assign an IP address to the interface,
2. set a subnet mask to define which network the machine belongs to, and
3. set a route or default gateway to the other box.

The last step is not explicitly necessary when both machines belong to the
same subnet.

Common values are: 192.168.x.y for the address, and 192.168.x.0 for the
network - where x may be anything you fancy.
The resulting subnet would be 255.255.255.0, or /24, depending on the tools
you use.

> Because, what is easy for others is not working at all for me.
> Is there any step by step guides available?

Dozens.

> Are there any quick and easy ways to set this up.

Sure.
Assign 192.168.1.1 to Box #1, and 192.168.1.2 to Box #2.
Assign both a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0, and set the default gateway for
Box #2 (the one that *doesn't* connect to the Internet) to the address of
Box #1 - 192.168.1.1 again.

Now you can test IP connectivity by running:
#ping 192.168.1.2
from Box #1, or
#ping 192.168.1.1
from Box #2
Both should return replies - one per second, break it off with Control-C

> I really only need some simple sharing of a
> few folders and also share internet connection between the computer I am
> writing from and the other.

That would be lesson #2 and #3 - Samba and iptables NAT, respectively.

> One problem on the other is; that when I try to access Network Services
> (which I believe is the way you access your network) I get a message
> that either mdnsd can't be found.

You need IP connectivity first.

> Any help would be greatly appreciated. I have set up ethernet networks
> in windows but never really fully knew what I was doing

I understand completely.

> but this seems even more difficult.

"Difficult" is a relative term.
Setting up a functioning "network" in Windows may seem easy, but then, as
you said, you can do that without having the slightest clue what you're
actually doing.
In Linux, you won't get away with that - you will certainly know what you're
doing, and why.
The obvious advantages being that you have at least a sporting chance of
fixing things when they break.

> I also don't do engine work lol.

Not a clue what that is supposed to mean.
*You* want to configure networking, yes?
Then either you learn how or pay somebody who does know to do it for you.

Hmm I guess that means I did know what you meant.

--
All your bits are belong to us.

Jeroen Geilman wrote:
> none wrote:
>
>> HI, I have been struggling with setting up ethernet between two kubuntu
>> computers.
>
> Turn computers on.
> Plug one end of a UTP crossover cable in each.
> Watch the pretty green lights on the NICs.
> Are they blinking ?
> If so, congratulations - you have a functional Ethernet network.
>
> Sarcasm aside, I suspect you mean *TCP/IP* networking.
>
>> Both of these computers are dual-boot with windows and I can
>> detect the network card in both through Kinfo center and through the
>> lshw command. I rebooted both into windows to check that the various
>> hardware was functioning and it was.
>
> What a way to "check" ;-)
> Do the following on each Linux box: run
> #lspci -v
> and check for the presence of your network cards, then run
> #ifconfig -a
> and check that there is at least an eth0 entry for each machine.
> If there is, you have functioning hardware.
>
>> I'm certain that I have checked some box or incorrectly filled a field
>> somewhere.
>
> Absolutely.
> The *clue* is that you /have/ to fill some fields before you can get IP
> networking to work.
> You need to do at least 3 things:
> 1. assign an IP address to the interface,
> 2. set a subnet mask to define which network the machine belongs to, and
> 3. set a route or default gateway to the other box.
>
> The last step is not explicitly necessary when both machines belong to the
> same subnet.
>
> Common values are: 192.168.x.y for the address, and 192.168.x.0 for the
> network - where x may be anything you fancy.
> The resulting subnet would be 255.255.255.0, or /24, depending on the tools
> you use.
>
>> Because, what is easy for others is not working at all for me.
>> Is there any step by step guides available?
>
> Dozens.
>
>> Are there any quick and easy ways to set this up.
>
> Sure.
> Assign 192.168.1.1 to Box #1, and 192.168.1.2 to Box #2.
> Assign both a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0, and set the default gateway for
> Box #2 (the one that *doesn't* connect to the Internet) to the address of
> Box #1 - 192.168.1.1 again.
>
> Now you can test IP connectivity by running:
> #ping 192.168.1.2
> from Box #1, or
> #ping 192.168.1.1
> from Box #2
> Both should return replies - one per second, break it off with Control-C
>
>> I really only need some simple sharing of a
>> few folders and also share internet connection between the computer I am
>> writing from and the other.
>
> That would be lesson #2 and #3 - Samba and iptables NAT, respectively.
>
>> One problem on the other is; that when I try to access Network Services
>> (which I believe is the way you access your network) I get a message
>> that either mdnsd can't be found.
>
> You need IP connectivity first.
>
>> Any help would be greatly appreciated. I have set up ethernet networks
>> in windows but never really fully knew what I was doing
>
> I understand completely.
>
>> but this seems even more difficult.
>
> "Difficult" is a relative term.
> Setting up a functioning "network" in Windows may seem easy, but then, as
> you said, you can do that without having the slightest clue what you're
> actually doing.
> In Linux, you won't get away with that - you will certainly know what you're
> doing, and why.
> The obvious advantages being that you have at least a sporting chance of
> fixing things when they break.
>
>> I also don't do engine work lol.
>
> Not a clue what that is supposed to mean.
> *You* want to configure networking, yes?
> Then either you learn how or pay somebody who does know to do it for you.
>
> Hmm I guess that means I did know what you meant.
>
Thanks for your reply and all the useful info. I have checked the
ifconfig and the eth0 are there. I will try the rest and hopefully
everything will work out. Lesson 2 and 3 samba and iptables are these
available in Konsole or something?
I did change an oil pump once and thought it was worth the effort. Alot
of mechanics these days won't touch engine work(I think they can make
some really quick cash doing brake jobs and such) so I just did it
myself. Anyway thanks Jeroen I appreciate the info and the delivery.
Chris

chris goback wrote:


> Thanks for your reply and all the useful info. I have checked the
> ifconfig and the eth0 are there. I will try the rest and hopefully
> everything will work out. Lesson 2 and 3 samba and iptables are these
> available in Konsole or something?

If you mean are there CLI programs to work with them - yes.
Both also have GUI-ish configuration tools if you want them.
Samba has a web-based interface, and for iptables there are any number of
firewall tools.

Install the packages, Google for documentation - they're both very heavily
documented.


--
All your bits are belong to us.

I hope this reply isn't insulting- however you'll need to have a
switch, I guess that may or may not be obvious. Kunbunu, like MS
Windows XP assumes you are using DHCP- that is it looks for a server to
get it's IP address from. (Ubuntu- pls change this or add the option
for a manual setting during install). So, to work as I suspect you are
trying to setup after checking to see that the "lights are on" and
there's a hardware level recognition of the card being detected and the
cable being present you'll have to go into System Settings on the
Kunbuntu menu and then go into Administrator mode. If you are just
trying to network the computers together you'll need to manually set
the internet address. As others have suggestions, try 192.168.2.X where
X is two different numbers for the two computers. Avoid X==1 since
that's usually used for the "gateway" to the internet. No using the two
internet addresses the computers should be able to see (ping) one
another.

If not or you want to hook them up to reach the outside world you'll
have to configure a gateway and a name server- these are manual options
you'll need to determine from your router setup or set the router up to
serve as a DHCP server and ignore the advice above as these settings
will be gleaned from the router.

me

(E-Mail Removed) wrote:
> I hope this reply isn't insulting- however you'll need to have a
> switch, I guess that may or may not be obvious. Kunbunu, like MS
> Windows XP assumes you are using DHCP- that is it looks for a server to
> get it's IP address from. (Ubuntu- pls change this or add the option
> for a manual setting during install). So, to work as I suspect you are
> trying to setup after checking to see that the "lights are on" and
> there's a hardware level recognition of the card being detected and the
> cable being present you'll have to go into System Settings on the
> Kunbuntu menu and then go into Administrator mode. If you are just
> trying to network the computers together you'll need to manually set
> the internet address. As others have suggestions, try 192.168.2.X where
> X is two different numbers for the two computers. Avoid X==1 since
> that's usually used for the "gateway" to the internet. No using the two
> internet addresses the computers should be able to see (ping) one
> another.
>
> If not or you want to hook them up to reach the outside world you'll
> have to configure a gateway and a name server- these are manual options
> you'll need to determine from your router setup or set the router up to
> serve as a DHCP server and ignore the advice above as these settings
> will be gleaned from the router.
>
> me
>

Thanks for your help, and no it isn't insulting.
Firstly, does it make any difference if I used 192.168.1.x instead of
192.168.2.x?
I tried the first example and it pinged from both directions. However,
I had to switch my setting from manual back to automatic to get the
internet to work. Which is what you were saying earlier. However, even
with that I got nothing when I looked in Network places on one computer
and on the second computer, a pop-up that stated the Zerconf daemon
(mdnsd)was not present or running, something like that. Do you know
what that might mean? I sense that it is important and might need to be
on the top of my list of things to fix.
Secondly, I am not clear on what a router is. I use a ethernet hub to
connect the two computers. How do I configure a gateway do I need to
access information from my KPPP dialer for this? The nameserver is that
my internet provider or workgroup? In Zeroconf is there any fields that
need to be filled? And how is Zeroconf relevant to what I am trying to
do. Which is to make a home network which allows simple sharing and
internet access for both computers?

Thank you in advance
Still learning
Chris

I found a script that should help you out- I misunderstood what you
were trying to do before but now I think I get it and this
http://rob.pectol.com/content/view/3/1/ script should help out. I
thought you had a cable or DSL modem- if you are dialing out this
script will work, just set the PPP connection to be the outside
ethernet connection. It's probably ppp0. This script will allow you to
use the static IP addresses internally.

The zeroconf daemon is designed to allow you to hookup to and share
ethernet connections (mainly wireless and high speed off the back of a
router). In your situation it's more complicated to get that working
than to do this with the script. You can see and change the status of
the zeroconf daemon by going into "advanced" on the system
configuration menu. You'll see something like System Services. I'm not
at that machine at the moment so I can't give you an exact reference.
However, when you get to the Services area, you should switch to run
level 5 preferences (poke around a bit and I think you'll find it, it's
a pick box in the upper left as I recall). You'll see zeroconf in the
listing and you can change when it's started and it's status if you
want to experiment with it.

A gateway is a computer or box that lets you get from your local ISP
onto the greater internet. Your ISP decides the address and it's
probably transferred to your computer when you hook up with PPP. They
may be willing to give you the address if you ask.

A router is a box which allows a group of computer with one set of IP
addresses to connect to another set with another group of IP addresses.
For instances, the 192.168.1.X computers would need a router to connect
to 192.168.2.x. BTW, the choice of 1 over 2 is entirely arbitrary-
either works just as well. I'm not sure why I always uses 2.X. However,
both of these address sets are special and known as "private IP
addresses"- that is they can't be sent out over the internet. That's
why a gateway or router is needed. If you are inthe mood, here's a
discussion: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_network. Computers
with these addresses couldn't talk to each other by hooking up to a
switch. Here's a decent explanation:
http://www.tldp.org/LDP/nag2/x-087-2...s.routing.html. The gateway
and your router are often one and the same box.

So, the script from the first paragraph should give you a "it just
works" solution to sharing. It will let the computer using PPP dialup
to share it's internet connection with the other computer. The machine
with the connection will be acting as the gateway and the router fo the
second. The article should describe what's going on in more technical
detail.

If the script doesn't work 100%, please post again and I'm sure the
group can help with the details. TCP/IP is really complicated. MS
Windows obscures some of this in exchange for initial ease of use but I
find if something does go wrong it's often impossible to correct
without the same level of understanding that Ubuntu requires. Ubuntun
(Linux) makes the details a bit more transparent and in exchange is
easier to diagnose if something goes wrong and generally people who
have to learn this stuff get a more reliable and more secure
configuration in return.

Chris wrote:
> Firstly, does it make any difference if I used 192.168.1.x instead of
> 192.168.2.x?

Not a whit, unless 192.168.2.x is already in use at your location.

> I tried the first example and it pinged from both directions. However,
> I had to switch my setting from manual back to automatic to get the
> internet to work. Which is what you were saying earlier. However, even
> with that I got nothing when I looked in Network places on one computer
> and on the second computer, a pop-up that stated the Zerconf daemon
> (mdnsd)was not present or running, something like that. Do you know
> what that might mean? I sense that it is important and might need to be
> on the top of my list of things to fix.

It is not important, unless your distribution somehow makes use of it
or you want to make use of it.

> Secondly, I am not clear on what a router is. I use a ethernet hub to
> connect the two computers. How do I configure a gateway do I need to
> access information from my KPPP dialer for this? The nameserver is that

How to configure a (permanent) default gateway the non-dialup computer
depends on the distribution, and how to do it _should_ be documented.
No, you need nothing from kppp, although kppp needs something from you.
(see below)

> my internet provider or workgroup? In Zeroconf is there any fields that

Workgroup? For a home network? Anyway, it's the ISP nameserver.

> need to be filled? And how is Zeroconf relevant to what I am trying to
> do. Which is to make a home network which allows simple sharing and
> internet access for both computers?

Netzero is irrelevant, unless "simple sharing" means samba, et all.
In that case read SMB-HOWTO.

It sounds like what you really need to do is

1) Set a default route on the non-dialup computer with the dialup
computer as gateway.

2) Provide pppd with the proxyarp option.

3) Setup a firewall and IP Masquerading on the dialup.

1) and 2) depend on the distro and kppp respectively.

A tool for 3) may also be available, but to learn about packet filtering
this is a good source

http://www.iptables.org/documentatio...ring-HOWTO.txt

And it has a functional PPP firewall (search the page for "Really Quick").
Moreover, adding

iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -o ppp0 -j MASQUERADE

to the end of it allows the non-dialup computer access to the Internet.

Some of the kernel modules required will depend on the version of the
kernel you use. If you decide to try the firewall and need advice in
that regard, post again.

> Thank you in advance
> Still learning
> Chris

Learning should be a lifetime project.

--
Clifford Kite
/* I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.
--Confucius, 551-479 BC */